Relationship of United States Department of Labor to free trade and the maquiladoras at the Mexican border.

A multinational company’s outsourcing production or assembly to another country, whether it is to Mexico at the southwest border or to a factory across the Atlantic is ultimately a reorganization of labour.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement many companies, small and large, began to shut down factories across America. Once China entered the World Trade Organization outsourcing and therefore displacement of workers became a regular phenomenon. One small source of assistance for U.S. workers is provided by the Department of Labor (DOL) which has a mission to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

NAFTA or trade affected workers can obtain assistance from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program of the DOL which provides U.S workers with skills, resources and support to became reemployed following a loss of a job due to outsourcing.